A Guide To Planning An Office Refurbishment

Getting the design of your office right so that it brings the best out of your team can feel overwhelming. With so many things to consider in an office refurbishment plan such as layout, lighting, colour, workspace, and seating options, it can be difficult even for office refurbishment companies to know where to start.

We’ve put together this office refurbishment guide to help you to identify your key requirements to develop a first-class office that your business will thrive in.

Why Is It Important to Plan For An Office Refurbishment?

Creating a new working environment for your team involves a number of different processes from research, designing, and planning to sourcing equipment and bringing everything together. Having an office refurbishment checklist or plan helps to make sure you’ve covered every stage and haven’t missed anything.

Having a plan that can be accessed by everyone means that all of the right people know what is happening and when. It also means that everyone can contribute and let you know if something’s been missed or if they’ve got an idea about doing something in a better way.

Evaluate What Changes Need To Be Made To Your Office

Start by looking at your existing space.

What works well?
What doesn’t work at all?
How do people move around the space?
Are there enough workstations to meet the needs of your team?
What can you change about your office design?

Once you have evaluated what changes you need to make to your current office, you can then start to think about office refurbishment ideas that will help you to design a space that meets all of those needs.

How Much Can You Afford To Change?

Knowing your budget in the early stages will help you to plan an office refurbishment that stays within your means. If your budget is tight, look at whether you can adapt some of the things you already have. Can you keep the desks but buy new office furniture or replace the workspace and upgrade the seating? Could the existing flooring be deep cleaned rather than replaced?

What Will The Impact Be Of Refurbishing Your Office Space?

Planning when you are going to carry out your office refurbishment is one of the first things that needs to go on your checklist for this to be a successful office refurbishment. You don’t want to be working from cardboard boxes when you’re got a big project deadline to meet.

There will inevitably be some disruption so look at solutions such as renting a space nearby for a short period of time or asking staff to work from home whenever possible.

What Can Be The Downside Of Not Planning An Office Refurbishment?

If you haven’t planned each stage and created an office refurbishment checklist it is likely that you will create a lot of stress and additional expense ahead of your newly refurbished office. Not having the right trades-people booked at the right time, or the equipment and fittings coming before contractors are due to start will cause chaos and delays to your schedule. Lack of forward planning is also likely to increase your project costs and extend the projects’ duration leading to unnecessary business disruption.

And if you don’t plan the timing of it, you may end up losing business if you can’t meet deadlines because your office space is out of use.

The Refurbishment Changes May Not Be Right For Your Office Space

Perhaps the biggest risk, if you don’t properly plan your refurbishment, is that the office equipment and fittings that you buy don’t fit the space. Desks that are too big or seating areas that don’t leave any legroom will take time to put right. The longer your office space is unusable, the more disruption to your business.

You May Go Over Budget

When you’re working to a tight budget, you need to know how much everything is going to cost. It’s difficult to know if you are financially on track if you haven’t got a refurbishment plan because your spending is likely to be reactive to solve problems as they arise. So a lack of a plan will not only cost you in time, it is likely to mean you go over your allocated budget.

Our Office Refurbishment Step-By-Step Checklist

So, now you know why it is so important to have an office refurbishment checklist, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to creating one that will keep your office refurbishment project team on track.

Identify The Need For An Office Refurbishment	The first step is to identify why you need to refurbish your office space. Is your existing one too small or too big? Or is it outdated and doesn’t support the way your team works? Once you know why you need it, it’s easier to identify all of the steps you need to include in your checklist.
Discuss Internally What Changes You Would Like To Make To Your Office Space	The best people to involve in the early stages of planning your office refurbishment are your teams. They’re the ones who will be using the space the most. Ask them what works and doesn’t work in the current space. What would their perfect office look like and what things would give them a more productive working environment? Once you know that you can start to plan how to create a space that meets their needs.
Reach Out To An Office Refurbishment Company Like Office Options To Discuss Your Refurbishment Wishes	Once you know the type of space you want to create, bring in the experts. Office Options have years of experience in creating first-class office spaces. Having specialists like us on board will help you to get the space you need for your team that will be delivered on time and within budget with the minimum level of stress and disruption to you and your business.
Agree A Project Budget And Timescale	One of the most important first steps in any office refurbishment plan needs to be agreeing on how much money you have to spend and how much time it will take. Once those two things are known, it’s easier to get everything else to fit into place. Your budget will affect the amount of work that can be done and the range of equipment and fittings you can afford to buy. Once that’s known, a realistic timescale can be agreed.
Begin Office Refurbishment Project	Once the ideas and planning stages are concluded, the exciting work of actually creating your new office can begin. This is where having a detailed checklist comes into its own so that everyone knows what is happening at what stage and by whom so that the work is carried out in accordance with the schedule. And if things do crop up, it’s easier to get the refurbishment back on track when there’s a clear plan in place.

Does Your Office Space Need An Office Refurbishment?

Office Options are the experts in office refurbishment. We’ll take away the stress for you and create a space that meets the needs of your team to help your business flourish. Our wealth of experience means we’ve come across most of the challenges faced during office refurbishments. We use our knowledge, skills, and techniques to make the process as efficient and stress-free as possible for you and your business with the minimum amount of disruption.If you’d like to find out more about how we can turn your office refurbishment ideas and dreams into a reality, contact us today.